Toothbrush



Aprihlz, 1932. K J, R, FRANK 1,853,854

TOOTHBRUSH Filed June 26, 1930 Patented Apr. 12, 1932 PATENT JOSEIH R. FRANK, OF VHOLLIS, NEW YORK, .ASSIGNOR T THE TEFRA C0., 0F

CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF DELAW'ARE STM/Ironia,

TOOTHBRUSH Application filed .Tune 26,

My invention relates to toothbrushes and particularly to the type of brush shown and describe-d in United States patent to Booty No. 1,592,292 granted July 13, 1926. It is the object of my invention to provide an im-V proved form and arrangement of parts for 'Y increasing the strength of the grip of the loop upon the tufted head of the brush of said Booty patent, whereby the head may be more l0 securely held in position during the use of the brush but without in any way detracting from the adaptability of the brush with respect to the substitution of a new brush head for the old one when such old brush head becomes worn. It is one of the objects of my invention to provide means for adjusting the effective sizeof the loop whereby it shall not be necessary to employ exceedingly great nicety in the manufacture of the parts, my improved arrangement making possible an adjustment of the loop to standard size regardless of any slight original deviation from such standard slze.

It is another object of my invention to improve devices of this type in sundry details hereinafter pointed out. The preferred Y means by which I have accomplished my sev-V eral objects are illustrated Vin the drawings and are hereinafter speclfically descrlbed.

. That which I believe to be new and desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth inthe claims. Y'

In the drawings,- l 1 Y Fig. 1 is a face view of the end portion of the handle of my improved brush, being shown upon an enlarged scale;

Fig. 2 is a side View of my'improved brush,Y

showing the brush head in position in the loop shown in Fig. 1; y

Fig. 3 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1 but showing certain of the parts in section; and

Fig. l1 is a vertical cross sectional View taken at line 11-4 of Fig. 1. j

Referring to the several figures of the drawings, in which corresponding parts are indi-v cated by the same reference characters,v 10 indicates a handle formed of pyralin or other non-metallic material. Uponthe end of the handle 10, I have provided a loop 11 which is means for adjusting the effective size ofthe 1930. serialy No. 464,025.

lan opening thereinat one end portion provided by-a slot 12 extending into the body of the handle 10 longitudinally thereof. In the construction shown, the loop 11 comprises a band portion 13 and a flange portion 14 at one edge of the band, the band V13, the flange 14, and the body portion 10 of the handle having, in the finished article atleast, an integral formation with each other. Y 1' A brush head 15 provided with tufts of bristles 16 is secured in position in the loop 11, having such a twithin the loop as'to place the same under tension longitudinally of the band 13. By the use of this construction the head 15'is held very securely in position under hard conditions of use of the brush without danger ofthe brush head being accidentally displaced from the loop, when the loop andV head are given the desired relative size with respect to eachother. At the. same time, the arrangement is such that when it is desired the brush head can be removed readily and quickly'from the loop'by pressure upon the brush head between the spaced iiangesflt. f s

For insuringv a proper .fit of -theloop 11 about thebrush ,head 15, VI have provided loop,'such adjusting means being so arranged as to be'efectlve fory its purpose'andtso as to -be at the same time'unobjectionable from Vthe standpoint of the user of thebrush. This adjusting means in my improvedconstruc-- tion comprises ascrew threaded pin or bolt 17 which is .entirely confinedwithin open ings throughv the portions of the handle at opposite sides of the slot 12 adjacent tothe end of the loop 11.` The bolt 17 has its 'head portion 18 loosely mounted. in a suitable open- 9o ing in the handle portion at one side of the' slot 12, while the oppositeend portion of the bolt has lscrew-threaded engagement with an opening through the Vhandle portion at the oppositeY side of the slot, whereby the bolt acts as a tie across the slot for limiting outward movement of the opposite side portions of thevloop. y Y I By the use of my improved construction, after thelparts have been prepared with only ordinary Care upon a commercial basis, I am enabled by adjusting the screw 17 to adjust the effective .size of the loop 11 so as to make it capable of having effective gripping engagement with a brush head l5 of standard size. By this arrangement, I am also enabled to effect a second adjustment if necessary to make the loop effective with brush heads slightly smaller than the standard size. Furthermore, in case a loop .should be stretched slightly1 by long continued use, a user is enabled by avery slight adjustment of the screw 17 to effect the necessary tightening of the loop so as to make it effective for continued use. With the bolt 17 tightened to its proper adjustment for cooperation with a given brush head, the slot l2 is still effective for providing a certain amount of yielding action for preventing breakage when the brush head is forced into position. The open end of the slot at the right of the bolt in Figs. 1 and 3 yields to a certain extent, and even the part of the slot at the left of the bolt in said gures makes possible a limited swinging movement of the side portions transversely of the loop by which my desired results are obtained.

While I prefer to employ the construction substantially as shown in my drawings, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to such construction exceptso far as the claims may be so limited bythe prior art'. v

l. A toothbrush comprising a handle formed of non-metallic material, a loop also formed of non-metallic material on the end of said handle closed about its entire periphery except for an opening therein provided by a slot extending into the body of the handle longitudinally of the handle, a tufted brush head adapted substantiallyY to fit said loop, and means adjustable transversely of the loop in fixed position longitudinally of the handle and the loop for partially closing said slot for causing the loop tightly to grip said head, said adjustable means being disposed completely between the outer side faces of the portions at opposite sides of the slot.

2. A toothbrush comprising a handle formed of non-metallic material, a loop on j the end of said handle closed about its entire periphery except for an opening therein provided by a slot extending into the body of the handle longitudinally of the handle, a tufted brush head adapted substantially toV fit said loop, and a threaded bolt confined completely within openings extending` through the handle portions at opposite sides of the slot adj acent to the loop for pressing said handle portions toward each other for causing the loop tightly to grip said head.

3. A toothbrush comprising a handle formed of non-metallic material, a loop on the end of said handle closed about its entire posed completely between the outer side faces L of the portions at opposite sides of the slot.

JOSEPH R1. FRANK. 

